Lifestream Glitch
by Team Three Productions
Summary: Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz have been reincarnated from the Lifestream, but something went wrong with Loz he came back a 4 year old. Post AC. Non yaoi


Lifestream Glitch

Summary: Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz have been reincarnated from the Lifestream, but something went wrong with Loz; he came back a 4 year old. Post AC. Non yaoi

Chapter 1: Revival

Pain unlike anything he had felt before. _'I'm... I'm alive... Yazoo! Loz!'_ He jerked up, only to give a cry of pain. He was in agony. "Y... Yazoo? Loz?"

Nearby, Yazoo stirred from what he had been sure was death. "Kadaj?" His voice was absent of its usual monotone. He, too, felt the same pain as his brother.

"You're alive." It wasn't a question, more a statement to test his vocal chords. His chest ached as his lungs expanded. "Where's Loz?" Kadaj was still unable to open his eyes, lacking the strength even to do so.

"He's lost." Yazoo was certain that Loz had died. But if he himself was here, there might still be a chance. Not likely.

Feeling suddenly afraid, Kadaj stood, his head swimming, and stumbled from the mound of debris wherein he had been thrown and buried alive. "We must find him, Yazoo!"

Hearing Kadaj already climbing to stand, Yazoo felt compelled to do the same as well. His eyes opened to the dimly lit ruins of Midgar, where they had fell in their last stand for...

"Mother", he murmured, their mission coming to mind.

"Loz!" Kadaj cried out his brother's name in slight desperation. "Loz, where are you?"

Yazoo was stunned at Kadaj's change of priorities. It had always been Mother above everything else, but things had changed now. He wondered what had happened to Kadaj before he had arrived and shot Big Brother. There were too many questions for the moment.

There was a low moan from the far corner of the ruined room in which they lay, and Kadaj, though stumbling on a weak and painful leg, hurried to it. "Loz? Is that you?"

The moan came again, and Kadaj dropped to his knees beside the rubble, beginning to shift it away. "Yazoo, help me!"

Yazoo stumbled to where Kadaj was digging and fell to his knees, slowly moving the rubble as if in a trance. His mind still spun from whatever had befallen them, only hurrying when he noticed his younger brother becoming more persistent in his search.

Kadaj suddenly stopped and let his eyes widen, the slitted pupils suddenly contracting in shock. There lay the body of a toddler, battered and bruised, but very much alive; his body shook and shuddered with every painful breath he took. The boy's hair was silver and short, half-lidded eyes a sort of blue not as dark as Cloud's but not exactly light, emerald green spiking around the nearly concealed slit of a pupil. The boy couldn't have been more than four years old.

"Loz?" Yazoo inquired to the child's identity, ignoring the impossibilities that made this happen and focusing more on the defining features that showed that the three were related. There was all the proof that this was their brother; he had silver hair, mako eyes, and the bond that bound them as brothers.

The eyes opened fully, causing Kadaj to reach over and grasp the little shoulder. "Loz."

Looking afraid, he stuttered, "B...Brother...?"

"Do you remember us?" Yazoo set his hand on Loz's other shoulder, puzzled beyond any other words.

Loz's head turned to Yazoo. His face was bruised. Slowly, he nodded and blinked. "Yazoo... Kadaj..."

Kadaj smiled slightly and brushed the bruised cheek gently. "Don't cry, Loz."

Yazoo met the little boy's eyes and nodded, believing what was before him. "We're alive, Loz. Don't cry."

Scrambling up, Loz threw his arms around Yazoo and Kadaj and hugged them tightly. Kadaj winced at the pressure on his throbbing body but was able to pat the boy's back gently. Yazoo was also surprised at the sudden show of affection, but nevertheless responded by gently ruffling the smaller brother's hair.

Kadaj looked around them. "We should find better shelter. There's no telling when this will come crashing down." He shook his shoulder-length silver hair out of his face and stood up, leaving Loz to hug Yazoo tighter.

Yazoo tried to loosen the hug but could only do so much against the grip of four-year-old Loz. Instead, he relented and picked him up. He could feel enough strength within to do that until they were at least out of the wreckage.

"Kadaj, it wouldn't be wise for us to stay in Edge. Big Brother and his friends would find us."

Kadaj nodded. Yazoo was right; Cloud and the others more than likely hated them, and they needed no trouble until they figured out what had happened. The last thing he remembered was hearing a voice calling to him and releasing him from his dying body as he lay in Cloud's arms. That, until the pain, was all he remembered and knew.

Staring out a whole in the wall on the room, he blankly observed the scene. Too many thoughts spun through his head to make an observation coherent. He and his brothers were alive, Sephiroth was gone, and they had nowhere to run. Homeless and with a four-year-old to care for. They were on their own again.

"Brother?" Loz intoned, tilting his head a little, noticing the blankly thoughtful look on Kadaj's face.

Kadaj shook his head and looked back. It was an odd sight to see Yazoo holding a child, especially when the whole of the trio was injured in someway. Any instance of childhood eluded Kadaj.

Yazoo, Loz still in his arms, walked out of the crumbling shack of a building and into what appeared to very much be the ruins of Midgar. "Don't you think it makes sense that we awake where we slept?"

Kadaj followed. "It's fitting. Yazoo, it occurred to me that we have to stay in Edge. Kalm is farther than Edge, is it not?"

"Yes, and we have no way of getting to Kalm. Loz wrecked in the tunnel and my own motorcycle was destroyed by the Turks. We don't have a choice after all", observed Yazoo.

Kadaj nodded and reluctantly took Loz from his older brother. The boy clung to him, wrapping his legs around his waist and his arms around his neck. "Assuming we can find it, we have mine."

That was the only place to start. "Where was it left?"

"I don't remember exactly," he said with a scratch of the head.

"Then we'll find it later. For now, we'll need to find residence", Yazoo reasoned.

"Night isn't too far off," Kadaj noted, casting a wary eye on the lengthening shadows.

"Night shouldn't be a problem." Yazoo kicked aside a sign reading "Keep on Rockin' Midgar" that was in his path to a crumbled set of stairs leading to higher ground.

Loz gave a small whimper and buried his face in Kadaj's neck. The older boy stroked his back and shot Yazoo a glare. "He's afraid of the dark, Yazoo. He was before we battled Big Brother."

Yazoo glanced back at them. "There should be lodging nearby, assuming the exit is not far."

"Good." Kadaj shifted Loz a little. The boy was getting heavy.

"This is an interesting place you've chosen, Kadaj", Yazoo noted, examining the old Shinra building lobby with a distasteful eye.

Kadaj set Loz down and turned to his brother. "Look around, Yazoo. Unfortunately it was the only place that was fully intact."

"I'll find fuel for a fire." With that said, Yazoo ventured into a nearby hallway littered with rubbish.

Loz was digging through a pile in the corner of the room. "Is this where we're staying tonight, Kadaj?" he asked.

The older boy nodded. "For the night. Tomorrow we'll go to Midgar."

Yazoo returned with various old documents and papers in his arms, dumping them onto the floor before pushing the trash into a pile. "Didn't you have matches in one of the compartments of your motorcycle, Kadaj?"

"I did," Kadaj confirmed.

"Then we'll have to find it."

"If you stay with Loz, I'll go find them."

Yazoo nodded and settled down on the floor, leaning against what might have been a receptionist desk. "Do you remember?"

"Yes. It shouldn't be too far from here."

Long silver hair falling over his shoulders, he nodded and looked over at Loz. "We'll stay here while Kadaj goes to search."

Loz nodded and continued to dig through the ruins as Kadaj left.

"Loz", inquired Yazoo, "What are you searching for?"

"I don't know."

"Then why are you searching?"

Loz shrugged and continued his search. Yazoo stood up and wandered over to where his little brother was rummaging. Getting down on one knee, he curiously watched until a bit of dull pink showed amongst the dust. He reached out to grasp it and pulled the object from under the rubble.

It was a bunny-like stuffed animal with fluffy ears, a red bowtie, and a velvety texture. It round black eyes were far apart and its mouth was hanging open as if to stick its tongue out. Yazoo wondered how a child's toy had ended up here.

"It's cute," Loz said quietly.

"It's filthy", he noticed, pinching the stuffed toy's arm with two fingers.

Loz held out his arms. "Can I see it?"

Not seeing what the boy saw in it, he dropped the item into his arms. Loz hugged it tightly, looking pathetic and sweet.

"Why do you like that rabbit, Loz?"

"I think he was lonely and scared."

Yazoo looked at him curiously, not having expected such a sentiment. Before this, Loz had been a sensitive person but the guy had cringed at things such as flowers. He only favored a handful of the colorful plants, but they tended to be disgusting otherwise.

Without another question, Yazoo picked up Loz and carried him back to near the rubbish pile. He resumed his sitting position on the floor with the desk against his back, only this time his little brother was seated on his lap. He noted how the sun was beginning to disappear from the horizon line and hoped that Kadaj had found the motorcycle by then.

Loz leaned into his brother, hugging the bear and closing his eyes. The little boy was very tired.

Kadaj entered, carrying a pile of cloth. Clearing a space with his foot, he set the cloth down, piled rocks around the trash Yazoo had brought, and touched a lit match to them. The dreary scene warmed a little, and the now-middle boy handed two sheets of cloth to Yazoo. "Here. Use them as blankets."

Yazoo accepted the clothe and wrapped most of it around Loz and the stuffed animal. His own leather jacket kept the cold from touching his skin, but at the same time he only felt the tiniest bit of warmth from the fire.

"Kadaj, what happened to Mother?" Yazoo didn't waste time asking.

"What do you mean?" the younger brother asked.

"After the explosion, Loz and I weren't able to stop Big Brother. I know he caught you. What happened?"

"I became Sephiroth," Kadaj said. "After then, I only remember attacking Big Brother once more. Then..." Kadaj sighed. "I was taken into the Lifestream. If you're wondering why I am no longer interested in find Mother..." He heaved another sigh. "We're puppets, Yazoo, and for some reason, I'm more concerned for you and Loz now."

"Before now you had never cared that we were puppets."

"I suppose... I suppose it finally sunk in and hurt."

Yazoo nodded, also feeling abandoned and betrayed by someone that had received all of their faith. "So now it's just us."

"Just you, me, and a four-year-old Loz. What the Hell is that thing?" Kadaj looked at Loz's new toy.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "We found it and Loz believed it looked lonely."

Kadaj chuckled, seeing Loz now curled up in Yazoo's lap with the toy. "He seems to be asleep."

"Children sleep often, don't they?"

"I guess so."

"We're in no position to be raising a child, but we can't abandon our brother."

"We have an obligation to our brother before ourselves."

Yazoo frowned. "What do we know about raising someone? We've never had a childhood ourselves."

"We can try, Yazoo."

"It seems there's nothing else we can attempt besides this."

Kadaj nodded. "Get some sleep, Yazoo. The Lifestream knows we need it."

END CHAPTER 1


End file.
